(Un)Lovable
by MLWilliams94
Summary: After an accident in the Triwizard Tournament leaves him feeling less than himself, Cedric Diggory confides in his lifetime friend Luna Lovegood to help him cope with feeling as if he is unlovable. But what happens when two people that feel completely unlovable by everyone else find love in each other?


_Many thanks to my friend/ unofficial family member Jake, who always inspires my creativity and helps come up with new ideas. I owe this story idea all to him and our _Harry Potter _world roleplay that this story is based off of. Thank you for dealing with all my crazy and sticking with me no matter what. I love you no matter what the psycho blender does to my arm!_

_I'd also like to give a big shoutout to my friend Rebel, who gave me the idea to upload my story on a more public forum! Thank you for answering all my questions, helping me in the middle of the night when I was trying to figure out how to use this site, and advising me when I can't figure out how to properly phrase something. You've been awesome!_

_I should also say a big thank you to the people reading this! I hope you enjoy and stick with me while I try to figure out exactly what I'm doing here. Lots of love to you all! Without further ado, here we go with Chapter 1 of _(Un)Lovable.

* * *

Chapter 1- The Third Task

"Cedric! On your left!"

Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it, but in his haste, he tripped sending his wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon him. He had been scared before, but as the older boy looked at the acromantula rearing to attack him, it took every bit of willpower he had not to piss his pants.

"Stupefy!" Cedric heard Harry yell, as he saw the scarlet light from the spell hit the spider's gigantic, hairy black body; feeling the weight leave his chest as the massive spider turned and ran at Harry instead, agitated and uninjured.

Cedric sat up, scrambling to grab his discarded wand, barely able to hear Harry shouting various spells at the spider over the ringing noise in his ears watching in horror as the beast lifted Harry in the air with its front legs, as its pincers snapped dangerously close to Harry's dangling legs.

"Stupefy!" Cedric shouted, hitting the spider square in the side, groaning in frustration when all it seemed to do was make the spider even more mad.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, trying one last attempt to get free of the creature.

Cedric barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief when the disarming spell made the spider drop the younger boy before they had both raised their wands again, aimed high at the spider's underbelly, and shouted "Stupefy!'' at the same time. The two combined spells hit the actomantula in a bright burst of scarlet, sending it flying away from them.

"Harry!" Cedric shouted a bit out of breath "Are you all right? Did it fall on you?"

"No," he heard Harry called back as he looked around, panting, to make sure the spider hadn't brought company; realizing for the first time that he was standing mere feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.

"Take it, then," Cedric heard Harry say behind him. "Go on, take it. You're there."

But Cedric didn't move. He seriously contemplated reaching out and taking the cup for himself for a moment, but he just stood there, looking at Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup, allowing himself to imagine for a split second what it would be like to beat Harry at something; for real, not like their quidditch match the previous year when Harry had been attacked by the dementors and he had beaten him by default. Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto the hedge to support himself and took a deep breath before speaking.

"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry argued "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you."

Cedric took a few paces closer to the stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head. "No," he said.

"Stop being noble," said Harry irritably. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

"You told me about the dragons," Cedric said. "I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that too," Harry snapped. "You helped me with the egg - we're square."

"I had help on the egg in the first place," Cedric retorted.

"We're still square," said Harry, growing more and more annoyed at the older boy's attempts to be righteous.

"You should've got more points on the second task," said Cedric pointedly. "You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."

"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!"

"No," said Cedric stubbornly. He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him dumbfounded. He was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff house hadn't had in centuries. "Go on," he said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.

Harry looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, he saw himself emerging from the maze, holding it. He saw himself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than he had ever seen it before... and then the picture faded, and he found himself staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face. "Both of us," Harry said. "What?" "We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."

Cedric stared at Harry and unfolded his arms. "You - you sure?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah... we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together."

Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then he felt his face split in a grin. "You're on," he said. "Come here." He said grabbing Harry's arm below the shoulder and helping him limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.

"On three, right?" said Harry. "One... two... three."

Cedric and Harry both grasped a handle. Instantly, Cedric felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, with Harry at his side.

Cedric felt his feet slam into the ground, and he fell forward; his hand let go of the Triwizard Cup at last and he raised his head; confused by the eerie silence that surrounded them instead of the expected fanfare.

"Where are we?" Cedric heard Harry ask.

Cedric just shook his head, equally as muddled as the younger boy. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet, and they looked around.

They had left the Hogwarts grounds completely, and were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Cedric could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside before looking back at the Triwizard Cup. "Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" he asked looking around again; feeling as if they were being watched.

"Nope," said Harry. He was looking around the graveyard. It was completely silent; save for his and Cedric's breathing. "Is this supposed to be part of the task?"

"I dunno," Cedric said, hoping he wasn't sounding as nervous as he felt. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"

"Yeah," said Harry, glad that Cedric had made the suggestion rather than him.

They pulled out their wands. Cedric had, yet again, the strange feeling that they were being watched. "Someone's coming," he said suddenly, squinting tensely through the darkness.

They watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. Cedric couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face as they drew closer; carrying what appeared to be a baby in their arms.

Cedric saw Harry lower his wand slightly and glanced sideways at him out of the corner of his eye, shooting him a quizzical look, wondering if Harry had any idea what was happening. They both turned back to watch the approaching figure.

It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second. Harry and Cedric and the short figure simply looked at one another. And then, without warning, Cedric saw Harry drop to his knees letting out a scream of agony.

Cedric immediately dropped to his knees putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Harry! Are you alri-?" his worried question was cut short by a high, cold voice saying, "Kill the spare."

He heard a swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: "Avada Kedavra!. He turned, just in time to see a burst of green light a split second before his world went black.

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Luna sighs checking her watch after what felt like an eternity, still unable to shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as she bites her lip, looking back at the maze; staring at the massive growth of hedges as if she might actually be able to see what was going on inside.

"You look sick Lu..." Neville says looking over at her. "It'll be over soon enough, Harry'll be alright." He smiles trying not to worry too much himself.

Luna nods silently not wanting to tell him that it wasn't Harry she was concerned for, but the older boy that had lived across the hill from her and her father all of her life. She had barely even been able to admit to herself that she had feelings for Cedric Diggory, let alone confess those feelings to anyone else. After all, Cedric was perfect in every way and she was... Loony.

_'Loony Lovegood_.' Luna thought, knowing good and well what the other kids at school called her. But not Cedric, never Cedric. He was Hufflepuff through, and through and Luna could easily understand why people flocked to befriend him.

She jumps a bit panicking slightly when she sees red sparks shoot out of the overgrowth, a clear cry for help, signaling that someone was in danger, and feels the knot in her stomach clench tighter with worry.

Neville looks at her a moment and sighs; reaching over and taking one of Luna's hands in his squeezing it lightly as a panicked and terrified looking Fleur exits the maze, empty handed, immediately taken into the arms of her friends.

Luna swallows a lump in her throat, feeling as if she was going to throw up, seeing the panicked look on the half veela's face as she clung to her sister as if she would never let go of her again wondering what had happened to make her behave that way. She sighs watching the pair and biting her lip anxiously and looking over at the maze again.

When Krum emerged a little while later, completely dazed, confused and also empty handed, Luna actually had to swallow her bile. _'Two perfecttly capable, overaged wizards have come out looking scarred for life... what is so bad in there?' _she wonders, refusing to allow herself to think of Cedric as anything less than perfectly fine.

"Down to Diggory and Harry now." Neville smiles "Hogwarts will win either way." He says looking over at his best friend and sighs seeing her pale skin looking even paler than usual, and feeling her hand shaking slightly in his own. He bites his lip, thinking for a moment, before he jumps in and starts telling her all about the hedges, and how they were grown to be so massive, in hopes of distracting her.

Luna tunes Neville out glancing at her watch occasionally over the next hour, Hermione seeming to voice her thoughts when she says "Surely they should have been back by now.". _'Yes, they should have...' _Luna thinks jerking slightly at a flash of yellow mixed with scarlet a moment later as Harry and Cedric land back at the pitch-turned-maze. She jumps up, joining in with everyone else cheering feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of her; until the band stops and she sees Amos Diggory drop to his knees giving her a perfect view of Cedric laying on the ground twitching uncontrollably. She hear Harry's agonizing sobs as she swallows her own, feeling her heart beating in her throat; unable to tear her gaze away from Cedric.

She stood there for what felt like an eternity; feeling as if gravity had released its hold on her and she was just floating, held down only by her locked gaze on Cedric's body moving against his will, almost as if he were being crucioed, electrocuted or even worse.

It was then, in the dead silence of everyone else's shock, that she started screaming.

* * *

_I should note here that most of Cedric's bit came directly from the _Goblet of FIre_ book; I changed a bit of the quoted text up and made it out like it was mostly coming from his point of view. Obviously, I don't own any of the characters or the _Harry Potter _universe, this is all just for fun and to get one of my favorite ships down on paper- er... screen. _

_Anyways, I know this was rather long for a first chapter, but I felt that I should cover the basics before we jumped in with the main story. I don't anticipate the other chapters being this long, but with that being said, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1! Please feel free to leave comments and reviews, I love getting input from other people._


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